A Prologue to Ellen Rogers' Sepulchral Series

If you adored our recent feature interview with Ellen Rogers, you will definitely be enamored with her upcoming monthly contribution for the Lomographic community. Let us accompany her and delve into her coemeterium as she shares with us the inner pulchritude of her works.

We recently witnessed her loveliness and creativity in Ellen Rogers: Instilled with Lustre and Wonder. It is not surprising how and why we were all mesmerized by her illustrious film photographs of Victorianesque maidens with beguiling bodily postures and facial expressions and of majestically tinted and fashionable portraits of porcelain-skinned muses. Her philosophy revolves around history, literature, psychology, and religion. Her occult approach to transform her photography into art transports us, viewers, into a Wonderland of affinity and strangeness.

Soon, Ellen Rogers will be writing her own monthly column in the magazine’s Analogue Lifestyle section. It will be called Sepulchral: A Journey in the Necropolis by Ellen Rogers. While waiting for the first installment of her series, here is a brief introduction from Ellen herself. Let us all give her a whimsical welcome as she joins the our very own analogue community!

Hello Lomographers,

I’m new here, well, newish, you can read an interview that I did here a little while ago, but that aside, I’m new here.

I am not however new to what I shall be talking about here. I am a photographic Luddite, you see; digital photography doesn’t sit well with me and I have long been championing the use of film in photography. Photography, as I see it, is a discipline, a way of life and one that cannot be compromised nor, in my life, can my usage of analogue equipment or supplies.

My attempts here will be to talk candidly about how my life revolves around my projects and how I deal with my artistic practice.

As it stands I am a professional freelance fashion photographer, I’m always busy doing look books or campaigns around the fashion weeks and I work on editorial stories monthly but in between I will embark on personal projects. This is where I will talk about them and occasionally I will do an article about why I use certain things in my work.

I should say now, that all my personal techniques are hard earned secrets and I will take them to the grave… Perhaps you will find them there someday…

But, that said please don’t be a stranger, if you have any questions (that are not about my technique) please ask away. I may do the odd post in response to your questions.

8 Comments

Welcome Ellen. I love your pictures and cant wait to read your articles. I'd love to be a full time lomographer and make a career out of it. I've done some commercial projects but nothing for money just for the credit and experience. I hope to get some inspiration from you. Thanks

Hi Ellen, I thought of a question for you and something you might what to write about. I read how you used to have a dark room in a cupboard. I've always wanted a dark room but my wife has ruled out the bathroom and offered me the garage instead, It has not running water or sink. Does this mean that my darkroom dreams are dashed again?

discodrew! Hello again! No it doesn't have to be the end of your dreams. I have had several over the years and although the cupboard wasn't the worse. I should also admit that I have never actually had a sink or water supply in any of mine (it is advisable for health reasons) but it isn't imperative to make images. Having said that you will need a supply of water near by, could you fix up a hose pipe? I always did (and still do) dash to the bath rooms for water. The only real issue you might face outside is temperature. Most commercial chemicals need a consistent temperature but you could always keep a kettle in your garage for tiny top ups of warmer water.

It is a fascinating subject and one I think would be good to write about here, thank you sir.

I use an immersion water heater (like for heating water while traveling) and a plastic wash basin to temper my color chemicals. I just unplug it when the bath gets a few degrees too warm and plug it back in when it gets a few degrees cooler. Rollie C-41 chemicals have a fairly wide range of acceptable temperatures and I find they work quite well.

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